Mouth SoundsI've always found standard International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) charts to be overcomplicated for my needs and yet
lacking in certain sound possibilities. So here is my alternative: It
goes from an open note (Ah) on the left and systematically adds
EQ/noise as you move across to the short voiceless noises
on the right. And top to bottom is the position of the main restriction
for that sound, from lips to glottis (vocal folds). I've used the IPA
symbol "ə"
for a schwa (the neutral or unstressed vowel sound) because the more
commonplace alternatives (like Uh or Ö) were a tad
misleading. I avoid the words "vowel" and "consonant" because they just
confuse things: For example, W is really just U. And having Oo, L and R
as equally "open" may seem odd, but hey, try it! And just because L, R
and everything to their right in the Voiced sounds are usually called
consonants shouldn't mean they can't be held as long notes (like,
"foreverrrrrrr", "the llllove boat" and "younnnngggg at heart"). And it
should be noted that the "purest" note (i.e. that which is closest to a
sine wave) is the U sound.